James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

Subscribe

Imaginative Realism

Dinotopia: The World Beneath

"A ravishing, action-packed adventure." —Smithsonian. Now with 32 extra behind-the-scenes pages. Signed by the author/illustrator

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

160 pages, fully illustrated in color. Written and illustrated by James Gurney. Signed by the author

Donating = Loving

Writing GurneyJourney takes dozens of hours each month. If you get as much out of this blog as you get from a cup of coffee or a nice meal out, please consider contributing to my citizen journalism in the visual arts.

CG Art

Contact

or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

Permissions

All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Last week in a bookstore near Amherst, Massachusetts I noticed a tiny origami crane sitting on a shelf of dinosaur books.

I hardly gave it another thought until the next day, when I saw another one perched on the napkin dispenser in a diner.

Later, in the Bela restaurant in Northampton I saw three more miniature origami cranes next to a flower vase. I asked the waiter how they got there. “I don’t know,” he said. “They just appeared. We love them. But no one knows who put them there.”

At the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, five more cranes appeared on the corner of the table where I had just been signing books.

No one claimed them, so I put them in my sketch pouch. Where were they coming from? Did they reproduce spontaneously, like the road kill kitties? Or was there some sweatshop in the Pioneer Valley staffed by nimble-fingered elves?

What was I supposed to do with them? Did someone want me to disperse them in public spaces? Was I an unwitting pawn in some vast culture-jamming, shopdropping conspiracy? I felt more befuddled than ever. But I sensed a call to action.

I glued thin wires under them so that they could fly. I placed one in a grocery store near the taco mix. I put another one on a display of Mentos gum.

Three more origami cranes are in my sketch pouch waiting to be set free. Maybe you’ll discover them in a convenience market, a big box store, or a donut shop.

18 comments:

Just a line to tell you how I admire your work. I wish I could paint something one day with few percent of the skills you have. Your blog is a great source of inspiration and reflection for my own work, as a paleontographist myself. You can see my work at http://www.paleospot.com

If one day you come in Paris for sketching and painting, warn me! I would be pleased to take lessons on field.Greetings from Paris.Alain Bénéteau

I love stories of subtle interaction with our communities, one of the reasons I loved and was inspired by the movie "Amelie". I like the idea that the cranes are part of a peace movement, and would like to think you've helped them migrate to touch more peoples' lives.Oh, and if you ever decide to meet up with Alain in Paris, it's just a hop skip and a jump to Berlin, where you can see the original Berlin specimen of Archaeopteryx as well as other great specimens at the museum of natural history. :D

There's an old (Japanese, I think) story of how a 1,000 paper cranes were made to bring good health to a little girl. Maybe someone is on a mission. Whatever is it, I think it's kinda cool that you passed it on! Great site. Love your dinos!! My 12 year old daughter wants to be a paleontogist, so dinos have become part our lives. She hopes to go to Montana and helped at a dig site next year.

Someone is making a wish. When you create 1000 paper cranes your wish will come true. How generous of this creator to share them with others.

In a church in New Haven Ct there is a giant "chandelier" of paper cranes all strung on fishing line filament and hanging by the thousand in an alcove of the church. When the sunlight hits them they warm up slightly and begin to move a bit with the energy of the heat.

Me again.. do you by any chance remember the 'gutter' houses and constructions in the streets of NYC a while ago. They began appearing on Canal street. Tiny constructions left in the gutters and near the drains...they were temporary little works of art to be enjoyed only if you happend to be looking down long enough to notice before they became dust and debris.

Culture jamming?! I'd never heard of that term but I understand it completely! It’s something my friends and I do all the time. I always get a kick out of leaving some small, odd thing(s) in a public space that will baffle (and hopefully amuse) the next person to see it. Anyway, thanks for giving me something to call our silly activities.

You might be interested in the Peace Crane Project!http://peacecraneproject.orghttp:armedwiththearts.orgWe are creating one art project each year, inviting every child in the world to participate and then share their art with others. This year, the children are encouraged to write a poem about peace, fold it into a crane, then place their crane within their community, to be discovered by others just as you did. We are also connecting schools and community groups around the world with one another for a one on one exchange and friendship. I hope you will join us and encourage others to participate as well.